South Carolina Head Coach Dawn Staley Sounds Off on Loss to UConn Huskies

The South Carolina Gamecocks are licking their wounds from a championship beat down at the hands of UConn. Head coach Dawn Staley sounds off on the loss.

After another blowout loss to the UConn Huskies, the Gamecocks' season has officially concluded. The Gamecocks finished with an impressive 35-4 record. However, Dawn Staley’s crew is not satisfied with the finish, as their dominance has led them to a championship or bust aspirations. The Huskies were the last team to defeat the Gamecocks before the tournament started and clearly found the key to defeating the former reigning national champs.

Despite the result, coach Staley was still proud of the effort her team showed, stating,

“Our kids gave it all they had. When you can understand why you lost and when you’ve been on the other side of that three times, you understand it. You can swallow it. We lost to a very, very good basketball team.”

Despite her being appreciative of her team’s effort, she did not mince words when describing the domination of the game.

“They beat our ass, but they didn’t make us like it. There’s a difference.”

Staley knew her girls had a chance to bring home the championship, despite the margin of loss. The game was an eight-point deficit at halftime, which Staley considered a win. The Gamecocks also held the Huskies’ star guard, Paige Bueckers, to a poor 5/14 shooting. However, the Huskies getting off to a major run in the third quarter and dual 24-point efforts from Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd were too much for the Gamecocks to overcome. When asked about the quality of the Huskies, coach Staley had no hesitation in singing her praises.

“I mean it’s hard, they’re good. They’re super unselfish and incredibly skilled. Their role players dagger you with a three… You’ve gotta be super good in order to beat them.”

With the offseason beginning, Coach Staley and company are gearing up to make it back to the national championship. With this foul taste in their mouth, expect the Gamecocks to return to the court with a vengeance that the entire country will have to deal with.

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